


Where the Lonely Ones Roam

by Ari (ShapeshifterAri)



Series: Healing the Dagger's Gashes [2]
Category: Ghost - Mystery Skulls (Music Video), Mystery Skulls (Band)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Character Death, It's 2 AM again, Multi, Night Terrors, Nightmares, Reliving Lewis' Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-16
Updated: 2015-06-16
Packaged: 2018-04-04 16:07:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4144041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShapeshifterAri/pseuds/Ari
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lewis hates having to go back into the coffin. But the others are there for him when he wakes up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Where the Lonely Ones Roam

**Author's Note:**

> Woooo!!! It's 2 AM again! Story time! :) Sorry for its shortness. I was in a rush.
> 
> The song is "Where the Lonely Ones Roam" by Digital Daggers. I listened to the piano version for this one, as well.
> 
> Enjoy! :)

It was dark.

And cold.

Where was he? This wasn't his room above Pepper Paradiso, nor was it a hotel room or the back of the Mystery Skulls van.

He heard voices behind him, but he couldn't turn his head. It was as if he was trapped in a-

"Lewis, you and Arthur take the left path. Mystery and I will go right."

\- dream. Oh, no.

His death. His last few moments as a living human.

_Won't you come out, we could paint the town red._

He was reliving it.

_Kill a little time, you can sleep when you're dead._

His dream-self lifted up the torch as he and Arthur obeyed Lewis' girlfriend. He couldn't wake up from this dream.

_Cause it isn't over yet. Get it out of your head._

He never could escape it.

_Chase a couple hearts, we could leave 'em in shreds._

He was going to have to watch Vivi's memories being erased again. He was going to stare into Arthur's dual-colored eyes, one filled with crystalline tears.

_Meet me in the gutter. Make the devil your friend._

He had to remind himself that it was the demon's fault. That all of this was its fault.

_Just remember what I said. Cause it isn't over yet._

It wasn't Arthur.

_Just remember what I said. Cause it isn't over yet._

Lewis tried to force his way though the dream, even though he knew it was futile.

_Say you have a little faith in me, just close your eyes and let me lead. Follow me home..._

"No! I won't watch this again!" He screamed. But his mouth did not move.

_Need to have a little trust in me, just close your eyes and let me lead._

He leaned over the edge of the precipice, gazing at the jutting rocks he found there. Lewis screamed again in desperation. He didn't need this.

_Follow me home, to where the lonely ones roam..._

He heard Arthur's sobbing, Vivi's screaming, Mystery's snarling. Then, nothing.

_Won't you come out, I've been waiting for you._

His eyes opened to reveal a black lid.

_Holding my breath, 'til my body turned blue._

He panicked, thrashing about and screaming when his arm phased right through the ebony coffin.

_We've got everything to lose. Yeah, I'm waiting on you._

He was a ghost. He was still trapped in the damn dream.

_Sun's come up, and there's no one else around._

Lewis unwillingly floated through the dirt to reach the surface. He read his own grave with a whimper. **"HERE LIES LEWIS PEPPER: LOVING SON, WONDERFUL FRIEND, AND PURE SOUL."**

_Meet me in the shadows, won't you tell me what you found?_

The other spirits in the graveyard emerged from their tombs and looked at him.

_You've got everything to lose. Yeah, I'm waiting on you._

One of them, a little magenta ghost with no human-like qualities, approached him. Lewis staggered backwards, still terrified of the thing he had become.

_Say you have a little faith in me, just close your eyes and let me lead. Follow me home..._

It nuzzled his hand. When he came into contact with it, a golden heart appeared on his chest and below the ghost's face. It startled him.

_Need to have a little trust in me, just close your eyes and let me lead._

The spirit chirped at him, speaking in another language that he could somehow understand. **'Home. Need a home.'**

_Follow me home, to where the lonely ones roam..._

And so Lewis created the mansion. The spirits all whipped around him in reverence and thanks, pleased to finally encounter a strong specter who could create an anchor for them.

_To where the lonely ones roam..._

Eventually, Lewis came to terms with his newfound status as a powerful ghost.

_Roam with me, come down to where all of the others fell. Get lost in the dark to find yourself..._

It was then that he remembered what he had left behind. He created his crypt in the lowest level of the mansion and mourned his losses.

_Just remember what I said. No it isn't over yet._

The Pepper family, who had taken him in as a child and had raised him as one of his own.

_Say you have a little faith in me, just close your eyes and let me lead. Follow me home..._

Vivi, his childhood sweetheart who had blossomed into a beautiful woman and his girlfriend.

_Need to have a little trust in me, just close your eyes and let me lead._

Arthur. He mourned him the most. Lewis had thought they were friends.

_Follow me home, to where the lonely ones roam..._

They were all gone.

"-is! Lewis! Wake up, Lewis!"

The skeleton's magenta eyes flared to life, causing his mortal friends to yelp and take a step backwards. He quickly extinguished the flames that had begun to spread across the floor. Lewis checked to make sure his dearest friends had not been harmed.

"Lewis, you had the nightmare again, didn't you?" Vivi asked softly, walking over and placing a delicate hand on his.

Arthur joined the two, frowning when he went to grasp Lewis' left hand. "You're shaking."

The specter couldn't take it anymore. He grabbed Arthur and Vivi, pulling them close to his chest and shuddering. Pale flickers of magenta flame streamed down his skull, a mockery of tears.

"Please. Don't. Just don't leave me alone. Not again. Please."

The humans in his embrace clung to him as he slumped to the floor. Arthur gently grasped Lewis' heart anchor and moved towards the center of the specter's chest. Vivi's hand joined Arthur's on the locket as they gazed at the youngest member of their team.

"We're not going anywhere without you, Lewis. We love you. We're staying with you."

Mystery, who had been sitting on the corner of the bed, trotted over and plopped himself in Lewis' lap. "You're stuck with us."

Lewis laughed at the kitsune's words, his voice shaky.

"I wouldn't have it other way."


End file.
